EMaxx DeWalt Build with Pictures,Links, and Part Numbers, Upgraded All Electronics

[gtamantraxxas]

I just plunged this baby in 6 inches of snow and shot rooster tails 2 feet off all 4 wheels with Traxxas 8.4 NiMh Batteries. What a blast! Figured I would tell you about the build. There aren't many e-Maxx deWalt threads out there, figured that out after I started.

I wanted to try a DeWalt Motor upgrade like I have heard on Summit forums, and a few Emaxx's as well. Also, I noticed the electronics were not as good on most e-maxx's for sale (2056 servos, and AM radio, etc) so I bought a roller and upgraded it all to match my Summit and e-Revo.

I bought this e-Maxx roller on eBay for $210 with 4 runs on it and 2 custom painted bodies.





I bought 2 2075 Digital Waterproof servos on eBay for $30, 2.4 Link Radio for $50, DeWalt 14.4 Drill Motor (DeWalt motor; p/n: 396505-21) for $40 and used the EVX-2 out of my Summit, which now has a Mamba Monster in it, and bought a 22T pinion off of Kershaw Designs (had to have it that big to reach because you don't have much adjustment room. THIS MOTOR IS BIG!

NOTE: Make sure to cover DeWalt motor holes with tape before attempting 1 and 2, don't want shavings in there.
1. I had to take the stock brass pinion off of the DeWalt motor (had to take a Dremel cutting wheel to that) (don't have a pic of that)
2. I had to grind down two of the tabs on the DeWalt Motor to make it mount flush against the plate (could have used a washer but didn't need to after grinding down the tabs
3. I had to modify the aluminum motor mount plate holes because the DeWalt has screw holes that are further apart (I screwed the 5mm screws in, and put white finger nail polish on the bolts to figure out where they would need to be, and then drilled out the area). Also had to Dremel a little off the Transmission case to get the DeWalt to sit flat.



4. Had to flatten a spot on the stock shaft for the pinion set screw to adhere to


5. I painted the motor flat black so it wouldn't rust (used heat resistant paint from Advance Auto for exhaust)


6. Made motor leads by using crimp ends from Advance Auto Parts, Gold leads are 14 ga leads, stuffed 2 wires in there and crimped, and then got 16 ga bullet type leads for the other ends, crimped them on


7. I then installed the motor to the plate and reinstalled everything, added the servos and 2.4 radio





Finished Product Pictures





I had some major help from maxxnslash (http://www.rctech.net/forum/members/maxxnslash.html) on rctech.net forums, he answered a ton of questions and provided a modified motor plate picture.
I also referenced these threads in importance order...
http://www.traxxas.com/forums/showth...ghlight=dewalt
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...ghlight=dewalt
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...ghlight=dewalt
http://www.traxxas.com/forums/showth...ht=my%20dewalt

Part Links
DeWalt Motor (p/n: 396505-21)
ebay.com OR
http://www.robotmarketplace.com/prod...396505-21.html

22 Tooth Pinion from Kershaw Designs, Believe 21 would work as well
http://204.186.93.64/Pinions.htm (Large Steel Pinions, half way down)
Dan@kershawdesigns.com also offered to cut a custom motor plate for $40

Deans Ultra Wire from Tower Hobbies
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXWUR9&P=7

58 Tooth Spur Gear

Advance Auto Parts
14 ga gold crimp leads
12 ga bullet crimp leads

High Def Gallery
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x...emaxx%20build/


Video coming soon...!

I have not added capacitors yet, it seemed to work ok without them for now. If anyone knows what they are for and if they are worth soldering on, let me know.

[PowerToTheMaxx]

I figure they charge and relive some of the voltage from the motor when the motor resistance gets to high, a feble attempt to save the motor from burning out from overload, but thats just a guess. How does the 14.4V motor run on 16.8?

[gtamantraxxas]

Runs great, supposedly the DeWalt motors love being over-amped and will take a pounding. That is why a lot of people are doing this mod.

[ArmyofDarkness]

I have not added capacitors yet, it seemed to work ok without them for now. If anyone knows what they are for and if they are worth soldering on, let me know.

Capacitors on the motors are designed to reduce RF noise that can interfere with the radio signal when using AM and FM radios- dont really need them with a 2.4ghz radio of you arent having range or control issues.

[gtamantraxxas]

I didn't have any control issues last night, and I had it a fair distance away, nowhere near the max though. I have them to solder them on if I get that issue though.

Thanks for the update

[orion]

How does the Dewalt motor diameter compare to the 775's diameter (with flux ring)?

[PowerToTheMaxx]

It was a semi-educated guess, although that might explain why one of my old AM radios might have control issues

[gtamantraxxas]

How does the Dewalt motor diameter compare to the 775's diameter (with flux ring)?

Not sure what the flux ring is you are talking about, but here is a pic of it beside a Titan 550 I believe, I would say at least a half inch wider across the whole thing, I had to grind a couple small tabs off the tranny to make it sit flat.



from this thread:
http://www.traxxas.com/forums/showth...ghlight=smoked

[PowerToTheMaxx]

What does the EVX think about this? What is the affective range of a 2.4ghz? I drove my Maxx out in a corn feild to where I couldnt hear it (half an acre away) and it still was in range.

[orion]

The flux ring is the metal band around the Titan 550 and Titan 775. Traxxas puts the stickers on them, that's one way to identify them on the Titans. It helps with the magnetic field the motors generate, some people take them off (which they shouldn't) so I was just being specific there.

I'm just curious if I'll be able to mesh up the same gears if I go this route down the line. If it's the same diameter as a 775 or close to it, then it should be fine.

[maxxnslash]

Wow that thing looks amazing! Great build! I'm glad I could help for sure! Hope you have tons of fun with it!

[PowerToTheMaxx]

My parents aren't thrilled whith the idea of a $40 motor, but it seemes pretty cheap compared to brushless

[maxxnslash]

When I used this setup it was amazing! It basically was brushless power in all aspects. I kind of want to do this setup again but don't have enough money to buy an evx-2, motor, capacitor, and matching servos.

[gtamantraxxas]

My parents aren't thrilled whith the idea of a $40 motor, but it seemes pretty cheap compared to brushless

It is the cheapest, most reliable power plant for an RC car as far as I have seen. Replaceable brushes that last 100 runs, also one motor

The evx-2 loves it, BTW, it blushes when it sees it

If they aren't thrilled with that, they must have you in the wrong hobby

The flux ring is the metal band around the Titan 550 and Titan 775. Traxxas puts the stickers on them, that's one way to identify them on the Titans. It helps with the magnetic field the motors generate, some people take them off (which they shouldn't) so I was just being specific there.

I'm just curious if I'll be able to mesh up the same gears if I go this route down the line. If it's the same diameter as a 775 or close to it, then it should be fine.

That is why I got the 22 Tooth pinion. This way there is room to reach. You don't have much adjustment because it is so big. At least with a modified stock plate. Bigger the pinion the more adjustment you have.

[maxxnslash]

How fast have you had this up to so far? Mine was almost outrunning my little brothers 2wd stampede vxl. You need to take some videos!

[gtamantraxxas]

What does the EVX think about this? What is the affective range of a 2.4ghz? I drove my Maxx out in a corn feild to where I couldnt hear it (half an acre away) and it still was in range.

The EVX-2 has no problem with it as far as I can tell. Lots of people are doing this mod to Summits with no problem. I haven't put lipo through it yet, but I am sure it will be fine. Net to get some LVC buzzers or something

How fast have you had this up to so far? Mine was almost outrunning my little brothers 2wd stampede vxl. You need to take some videos!

Unfortunately, I only got one video of it. I ran it twice and hit a pole. So I have to get some parts. I am very disappointed in the e-maxx bulkheads.

Here you go, my buddy took it with my phone. Poor quality, mine is the white one which hits the pole. We broke 3 emaxx's in 10 minutes yesterday. Those bulkheads combined with the cold are not a good idea. Great for the yard, not at the skate park. $25 worth of parts in one second. Should have it back together next week to get some real video.



When I ran it in my driveway I could slide 15 feet, and go through 6 inch snow without a problem shooting big rooster tails.

[maxxnslash]

What batteries are you running in it? If want to stay Nimh I STRONGLY suggest elite 5000 7 cell packs. They perform amazingly!

Unfortunately, I only got one video of it. I ran it twice and hit a pole. So I have to get some parts. I am very disappointed in the e-maxx bulkheads.

Here you go, my buddy took it with my phone. Poor quality, mine is the white one which hits the pole. We broke 3 emaxx's in 10 minutes yesterday. Those bulkheads combined with the cold are not a good idea. Great for the yard, not at the skate park. $25 worth of parts in one second. Should have it back together next week to get some real video.



When I ran it in my driveway I could slide 15 feet, and go through 6 inch snow without a problem shooting big rooster tails.

I got a front left bulkhead and some other parts if you need them though.

[PowerToTheMaxx]

Ouch!! That must of hurt, and its not just the cold. E-Maxx bulkheads are usually first to go, even in warm weather

[gtamantraxxas]

Ouch!! That must of hurt, and its not just the cold. E-Maxx bulkheads are usually first to go, even in warm weather

Ya, I believe I am going to sell this e-maxx as a roller again because of the bulkheads. I have an e-revo and a summit which don't have this problem. It was a fun winter project. I will get it back together next week and take some good video of it before it goes up. It has a total of 6 runs on it.

I did this earlier in the year with a revo 3.3 and not one broken part...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eevYR0HBi9g

[gtamantraxxas]

Since the last time I posted, I decided to bulletproof the e-maxx instead of selling it. It looks the most like a real truck of my bunch anyway, and there is something about it in doing all of that DeWalt work to it that made me want to fix it up.

So anyway, I ordered FLM bulks, RPM true track rear, RPM arms, RPM front knuckles, RPM shock towers, and RPM skid plates. I also have some OFNA shocks I have to figure out how to mount (which there is another thread on here on), but it is looking pretty good.

I took some pictures during the build below:

Tear Down


Parts


Front FLM Bulks


Front RPM Carriers


Rear FLM Bulks


Rear True Track


RPM Shock Tower

[gtamantraxxas]

And since the original point of this truck was to run in the snow, I made inner fenders. I took a $4 container from Wal-mart, cut the flat sides out with a dremel and used zip ties to mount in to the truck until Summer, this is what I came up with.

Front


Rear


Front and rear


Snow Covered


Inside not so snow covered

[gtamantraxxas]

Full size picture gallery here:
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x...emaxx%20build/

[01 400EXer]

What batteries are you running??? Thanks!

[gtamantraxxas]

What batteries are you running??? Thanks!

Well, currently the traxxas stock 8.4 NiMH batteries are the only waterproof batteries I have, they run ok for about 10-15 mins.

I plan on getting some better waterproof batteries in the near future.

I also plan on running lipos in nicer weather with buzzer alarms since that ESC doesn't have lipo cutoff

[mjosparky]

I drove my Maxx out in a corn feild to where I couldnt hear it (half an acre away) and it still was in range.

If you counldn' hear it how do you know it was still running?

Sparky

[jrgunn5150]

I just put a 14.4v in mine yesterday, and I will honestly say, that for the same price as a 775 and the same amount of effort, the Dewalt hands down wins.

I run 4s LiPos and with the dewalt, 22/65 gearing.

I've seen people compare it to BL power though, and I just don't see that. For me though, and my fiance pretty soon the Dewalt/4s combo is about as much power as you really want in a basher/general purpose rc.

[gtamantraxxas]

I just put a 14.4v in mine yesterday, and I will honestly say, that for the same price as a 775 and the same amount of effort, the Dewalt hands down wins.

I run 4s LiPos and with the dewalt, 22/65 gearing.

I've seen people compare it to BL power though, and I just don't see that. For me though, and my fiance pretty soon the Dewalt/4s combo is about as much power as you really want in a basher/general purpose rc.

I absolutely agree, it is not a MMM, however it is great for general purpose fun! As well as waterproof, easily rebuildable ($3 brushes) and can take lipo. I don't always need to go a thousand miles an hour with a MMM, just have a good time and this motor does that hands down.

Dude that is a sick build. How is the aluminum bulks holding up to torture ?? I did the alum bulks, alum, diff housing and alum rails on the bottom to my 3908 but I have the mamba in there. Makes we want to take one of my evx systems out of one of my other trucks just to run it in my reinforced maxx truck.

Will I have as much bulkhead breakages with the alum bulks or will they be gone ??

Last but least could you lay them plastic shields down and put a tape measure up against them and show the measurements so it's not a guessing game, in other words take the guessing out since you already did the guessing. That's a nice shiled even though it's just basic materials I'd imagine.

They are holding up just fine so far. Just get good quality bulks, (not integy) and you will be fine. I got FLM, there is also American CNC Machining on eBay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=360216421113 which are also good. I will try to put up some pictures with a ruler beside the inner fenders...

Someone asked me to show a ruler beside the inner fenders I made, so I have a few pictures.

In general, you will need to put your body on and put a ruler up inside and measure to the bottom plate, at the corners of the grey plate. This will tell you how high you need to make these, mine will work for a proline body, but probably not others.

Mine ended up being about 3.5 inches in both front and back, also had to round the corners on the back one to make it fit the contours of the bed.

Anyway, here is the container I cut from...



Here is the ruler inside my fender on my truck


Here is the ruler without the body on, again, about 3.5 inches fit inside my body, your results may vary


Better shot of how it is attached, I tied it to the corners by drilling a small hole, and a small zip tie through, and then a large zip tie around the shock tower in the front to hold it down


This truck was drooping pretty bad with all of those heavier duty parts so I got around to putting the 1/8 scale aluminum threaded OFNA shocks on this truck, see this thread to see my debate on how to mount them...
http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread...axx-Shock-Help

Anyway, I used rubber bushings and will see how they hold up. I put 4 on each corner, and you have to love the shock colors if you are near WVU!!

Used a small washer on the top as well as a rubber bushing inside I got from Lowe's, at least on 4 of them. The other 4 came with rubber bushings, so I used those too.




View with the body on...



Full size gallery here:
http://s187.photobucket.com/albums/x...emaxx%20build/

Also have a little more poor quality video of it running in the snow. This is before the new shocks were put on, so it is squatting a bit. I am running the stock Traxxas 8.4 batteries so the power only goes up from here...

[gtamantraxxas]

Just put some pro-line big joe tires with Pro-line wabash 40 series dyed wheels on this truck, thought I would post some pics.

It is a beast in the snow now...

[WesselDoubleT]

Wow that's sweet! I really like those pro-line wheels and tires on it

[Mudweiser]

Very nice build thread. Love the tires. Very innovative on the splash/snow guards.

[josh62685]

I just ordered mine. So I need a 22t pinion. I have 2 questions.
What size is the motor shaft and is the motor staying cool with the 22t pinion?

[RC-Fan]

I might be getting one, but how do you do the mesh? I saw the motor fits in one fixed position.

[RC-Fan]

I know how to do the mesh I'm asking on this particular set up if you look at the motor mounting plate there are just two holes so the motor fits in only one position so it won't move so how do you mesh the pinon and the spur in that case

[gtamantraxxas]

I just ordered mine. So I need a 22t pinion. I have 2 questions.
What size is the motor shaft and is the motor staying cool with the 22t pinion?

Well I have only run it in the cold, but mine does not get hot at all. I have even run with 4s lipo now and still not hot that I can tell. I got a 22T pinion from Kershaw Designs, and this gives you enough pinion to have a tiny bit of adjustment.

[gtamantraxxas]

I might be getting one, but how do you do the mesh? I saw the motor fits in one fixed position.

The motor is not completely fixed, it moves a quarter inch or so. One hole is just a hole, the other hole was elongated a little to allow for some adjustment. Not much, but it is adjustable. The hole toward the center of the truck is adjustable.

You can't use much smaller of a pinion though.

[josh62685]

Just installed mine. Reverse has more torque. Anyone else experiece this?

[gtamantraxxas]

Just installed mine. Reverse has more torque. Anyone else experiece this?

Do you mean it is faster backward than forward?

Is your motor brand new?

Is its model number 396505-21?

Put up a nicely edited video of this truck in the snow, since that was its main purpose anyway...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SP_kYHLtXQ

[RC-Fan]

how fast is it?

[josh62685]

Yeah it's the same one you used. Looks to be new. If it's faster it isn't much. reverse has more overall power. I switched wires and Messed with settings on remote but it seems like the motor runs better one way than the other. Going foward I can't really tell a diffrence from the titans. But reverse has more power, wheelies very easily even while moving at slow speeds. I will test it more tonight maybe put gps on it to see if one way is faster than the other. If all else fails I'll flip the diffs to get the power going foward. But that will be last resort. Will update.

[josh62685]

Flipped the diffs. Solved the problem. Evidently my motor has more power one way than the other. Wierd.